Worth the Wait
by nothingtolose18
Summary: Oneshot. Kate is over Alex, she swears she is. But then she realizes ... it's too late in her time, but it may not be too late in his! Events from the end of the movie included.


**A/N: Reviews are love. No, I don't own The Lake House, Sandra Bullock, or Keanu Reeves. Just a little oneshot I wanted to write for a movie I adore. It doesn't go exactly by the movie-although the plot is generally the same, I've changed the words and inserted a lot of thoughts and things. Hope you enjoy!**

Much as Kate tried to fool herself, she wasn't really over Alex.

She'd catch herself thinking about him often, even when she was around Morgan. Then she'd remind herself of that embarrassing night at the restaurant, where she'd sat, like an idiot, by herself all night waiting for a date that didn't show, and she'd try to push Alex out of her mind. Still, he wouldn't leave.

But time was creeping forward, and it wasn't bringing her any closer to her mystery man. She thought again of the little girl she'd been checking up on that night in the hospital, who told her about her mother and how she was always looking for someone better. Kate thought that maybe that was what she had been doing herself. How did she know that Alex was truly out there, and that he loved her? Morgan was here and now, and he loved her in his own way, and maybe that was enough. Maybe that was who she was meant to be with.

And so, despite her feelings for Alex, Kate stayed with Morgan, and they began to plan their life together. Kate kept Alex close to her heart, but he began to fade into the background slowly. Morgan was a good guy underneath it all, and she knew that he wouldn't leave her stranded. Morgan was nothing if not dependable.

Finally, Valentine's Day of 2008 rolled around. Kate had gotten Morgan a little Valentine card for the occasion, though she wasn't expecting anything in return. Morgan loved her, but he didn't really pay attention to any dates beside business dates. She wasn't sure he would even clue in until she told him herself.

She and Morgan had an appointment that day at Visionary Vanguard Associates, a new up-and-coming architect office. They were planning on doing renovations to their home, which delighted Morgan. Kate liked coming up with new ideas, but she still longed to live in her lake house. Still, she knew that Morgan, with his busy work schedule, would never agree to live in the house on the lake. He needed to live in the hustle and bustle of the city.

The appointment time rolled around, and she met Morgan at the architect's office. He had just gotten off work. They sat together in the chairs in the waiting room, and she produced the Valentine's Day card for him.

"Oh," he said, surprised. She could see it took a minute for the gears to click into place, but when they did he looked properly ashamed. "I'm so sorry Kate, it completely slipped my mind."

"It's okay," she said with a smile, patting his hand. She'd been expecting that response. "Open it!"

At that moment, the office door opened. Morgan hurriedly stuffed the card into his jacket pocket. A young man greeted them with a friendly smile, shaking both their hands. "Henry Wyler. Hope I didn't keep you waiting long?" he asked, standing aside to allow them room to enter.

"No, not at all," Morgan said pleasantly, sitting down at the table in the middle of the room. He waited for Kate to sit down, and when she didn't he glanced up at her, confused. "Kate? Are you..?"

Something had caught her eye. She was staring, transfixed, at a drawing of the lake house hung on the wall … _her _lake house. She stepped forward, enthralled, and laid one hand delicately on the surface. "Who drew this?" she asked in amazement.

"My brother Alex," Henry said, and the pride was evident in his voice. "Did you know him?"

Kate's heart began to pound as she put two and two together. _Alex … an architect … my lake house … it has to be him!_

"Yes, I do. Do you have a number or address where I could get in touch with him?" she queried, still staring at the beautiful sketch of her former house. She knew that Morgan was probably wondering what the hell was going on, but suddenly the need to see, actually _see, _Alex was so strong that it was almost palpable. Maybe they could work things out. Maybe she'd been too quick to throw away their relationship.

Henry cleared his throat uncomfortably, and something about the way he did so made Kate turn to look at him. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but my brother passed away … two years ago today, actually. There was an accident…" His face was still open and friendly, but it was easy to detect the sadness in his eyes.

Time stood still. The world was suddenly spinning at a much slower speed, and it was all Kate could do to not fall down. Her legs buckled at the knees precariously. "What?" She was aware of the fact that her voice was high-pitched and shrill, and that she was dangerously on the verge of tears. "No, he didn't. That can't be right."

Henry shook his head, looking at her curiously. She wondered how much, if anything, he knew of her. "I'm so sorry."

Suddenly it was hard for Kate to breathe. She remembered what she'd done on February 14th, 2006. She remembered it quite well, because for a while it had haunted her dreams. She'd held a man in her arms and watched him die before her eyes. She'd struggled to save him, but had had to let him go. Suddenly the details bubbled to the forefront of her mind; the face she'd been too busy trying to save to recognize. The tousled hair, the chiselled features. The very same man she'd kissed two years before at her birthday party, the man to whom she'd confessed things she would _never _have thought of telling Morgan. It was Alex; it had to be Alex.

Suddenly Kate was running; running out of the office and out of the building and out onto the streets, running as fast as she could, running in her heels even though they pinched her toes painfully. She could hear Morgan yelling behind her, and she knew that he, and the rest of the city, probably thought she was crazy, but she didn't care. She had to get to the lake house. It was too late in her time, but it may not be too late in his.

She fell, panting, into the driver's seat of her car and turned it on as quickly as she could. She had to get to the lake house and send him a letter. Once again, time was her greatest hurdle, keeping her from the man she finally realized she loved.

"Please don't cross that street," she begged aloud, blaring her horn at the car in front of her, who was taking his sweet time driving even though the light had just turned green.

She didn't want to have an accident herself, but she still couldn't help speeding her way to the lake house. Luckily, traffic wasn't too heavy, and she made it there fairly quickly. Still, her heart was pounding with fear as she screeched to a halt in front of her former home.

She quickly hauled out the pad of paper she'd began keeping in her glove compartment after beginning correspondance with Alex. She didn't have time to begin with pleasantries. She started to write.

_Alex, I know that you want to be with me. But please, wait. Wait for me. Don't cross that street when you see me. Just wait. I'll be here on Valentine's Day of 2008, at the lake house. I love you. I've finally realized that I love you. Please wait. Please. It's the only thing I ask. Don't try to find me…just wait._

She hurriedly jumped out of the car, not bothering to shut the door behind her, and stuffed it into the mailbox.

"Please," she whispered, praying that she wasn't too late to save him. "Please, please, please wait. Don't cross that road, Alex. Wait."

The minutes seemed to drag by, and the overwhelming emotions began to take their toll on Kate. _Oh God, I was too late…_ Tears were streaming down her face as she waited, terrified of what she was going to do if he didn't show up.

Finally, an old blue car made its way around the curve and into the lot. A man jumped out, and all they could do was stare at each other. She was in shock, seeing the face that she'd last seen two years ago as he lay dying in the middle of the road, the face of the man that she felt certain she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Back then, that man had been a stranger to her, but through some miracle, some wonder, he'd become something much more to her. This must be how destiny felt.

"You waited," she breathed, and suddenly they were kissing with a passion that Kate had never felt before. She didn't want to ever let him go.

"I waited," he echoed, pulling away long enough to smile down at her. "And it was one hell of a wait, let me tell you…"

"Mine, too," she confessed, interlocking her hand with his. "Was it worth it?"

"Definitely," he whispered, squeezing her hand as they began making their way down the walkway to their lake house. "Definitely."


End file.
